Type Style Finder

There’s no end to the fun that can be had with typefaces and color.

So many recent experimental faces are funny to look at that it’s hard

to pin down what captures the comical in an alphabet. Most often,

it has to do with decorative qualities—curlicue serifs, playful ascenders

and descenders, bulbous strokes, or graphic inclusions. Depending

on context, it may involve typefaces that call to mind campy time periods

(think 1950s or 1960s suburbia) or that make jokes (a neoclassical serif

with incorrect proportions, constructed of chunky dots). Typefaces

with reverse italic posture, or posture changes between the letters of

the alphabet, are bouncy and dance like clowns. Very short lowercase

letters in a face with tall ascenders and deep descenders are funny,

as are exceptionally small or overly large details such as tittles and

swashes. Sometimes, a bold face with stroke contrast, in which the

counterspaces defy the outer contours of the letters, will have a quirky,

irreverent quality—somewhat like a stand-up comic delivering un-

comfortable material that still makes us laugh. Pictorial typefaces, in

which letters or parts of letters are made of recognizable objects, can

be very funny. Outline types, brush-written sans serifs, and sans serifs

with rounded terminals evoke comic books and newspaper funnies.

Time to laugh out loud! Humor is a tremendously effective device for

engaging an audience and bringing them a little relief from their

workaday experience. Whether cute and quirky or campy and irreverent,

type and color that laugh with you are fun and frivolous. In the context

of a serious or potentially dry subject, a little humor goes a long way

in helping get the message across in a memorable manner.

Type Specimen

top, and detail, bottom

P22 Type Foundry

Richard Kegler, art director

Colin Kahn, designer

Buffalo [NY] USA

Comical

Moods

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Hardy Har Har

Graphic–Sans Serif Hybrid |

Bold Weight |

Nick’s Fonts

www.nicksfonts.com

Chicken Parts

Graphic–Sans Serif Hybrid |

Contrasting Weights |

Garage Fonts Type Foundry

www.garagefonts.com

[e-mail]

800.681.9375

Scruff

TM

Graphic | Erratic Weight |

Erratic Posture | Stroke

Distortion | Abstract Details

Linotype Library GmbH

www.linotype.com

[e-mail]

+49 (0) 6172 484.418

Eatwell Chubby

Sans Serif | Bold Weight |

The Chank Company

www.chank.com

[e-mail]

877.GO.CHANK

P22 Bagaglio Flat

Graphic | Condensed |

Erratic Weights and Height |

P22 Type Foundry

www.p22.com

[e-mail]

800.P22.5080

Rancho Bold

Stylized Sans Serif | Medium

Weight |

T.26 Digital Type Foundry

www.t26.com

[e-mail]

888.T26.FONT

Type Style Finder

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Moods Comical

P22 Bramble Wild

Serif-Script Hybrid | Light

Weight | Swash Details |

P22 Type Foundry

www.p22.com

[e-mail]

800.P22.5080

F2F Tagliatelle Sugo

TM

Sans Serif | Erratic Contrast |

Heavy Weight |

Linotype Library GmbH

www.linotype.com

[e-mail]

+49 (0) 6172 484.418

P22 Prehistoric Pen

Stylized Sans Serif |

Medium Weight |

P22 Type Foundry

www.p22.com

[e-mail]

800.P22.5080

P22 Rakugaki Latin

Stylized Sans Serif |

Bold Weight |

P22 Type Foundry

www.p22.com

[e-mail]

800.P22.5080

Buckethead

Stylized Serif | Bold Weight |

The Chank Company

www.chank.com

[e-mail]

877.GO.CHANK

Drunk Cowboy

Modified Slab Serif |

Condensed |

The Chank Company

www.chank.com

[e-mail]

877.GO.CHANK

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Type Style Finder

Metropol Noir

Stylized Sans Serif | Caps and

Alternates | Bold Weight |

Device

www.devicefonts.co.uk

44 (0) 7979.602.272

[e-mail]

Foonky Heavy

Stylized Sans Serif |

Extra Bold Weight |

Device

www.devicefonts.co.uk

[e-mail]

44 (0) 7979.602.272

Cantaloupe

Stylized Sans Serif | Erratic

Counters | Bold Weight |

Device

www.devicefonts.co.uk

[e-mail]

44 (0) 7979.602.272

Bric a Brac

Graphic | Condensed |

Caps with Alternates |

The Chank Company

www.chank.com

[e-mail]

877.GO.CHANK

Gill Kayo Condensed

TM

Sans Serif | Black Weight |

Condensed |

Linotype Library GmbH

www.linotype.com

[e-mail]

+49 (0) 6172 484.418

Jokerman

TM

Graphic Sans Serif |

Abstract Details |

Moderately Condensed |

Linotype Library GmbH

www.linotype.com

[e-mail]

+49 (0) 6172 484.418

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Moods Comical

Postino

TM

Slab Serif | Bold Weight |

Extended | Flared Strokes |

Linotype Library GmbH

www.linotype.com

[e-mail]

+49 (0) 6172 484.418

ITC Schizoid

TM

Graphic | Erratic Weight

and Contrast | Moderately

Condensed |

Linotype Library GmbH

www.linotype.com

[e-mail]

+49 (0) 6172 484.418

ITC Snap

TM

Modified Wedge Serif | Black

Weight | Erratic Counters

Linotype Library GmbH

www.linotype.com

[e-mail]

+49 (0) 6172 484.418

ITC Tapioca

TM

Graphic Sans Serif | Light

Weight | Textured Strokes |

Erratic Posture

Linotype Library GmbH

www.linotype.com

[e-mail]

+49 (0) 6172 484.418

Couchlover

Modified Modern Serif |

Medium Weight |

The Chank Company

www.chank.com

[e-mail]

877.GO.CHANK

Dirt Devil

Graphic Sans Serif | Erratic

Weight | Mixed Case Alternates |

T.26 Digital Type Foundry

www.t26.com

[e-mail]

888.T26.FONT

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